


Target: Locked On

by secondmeteor



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hockey, Gen, Teamwork and youth!, Warnings for Tsunade saying the f word
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 03:23:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18241388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secondmeteor/pseuds/secondmeteor
Summary: Tonight on Hockey Night in Konoha: lead by legendary center Hatake Kakashi, team Konoha faces the Immortals and their formidable defense duo Hidan and Kakuzu. Will the score between the two teams finally be settled, or will Konoha end up losing even more players to injury?





	Target: Locked On

**Author's Note:**

> Did you know that the fan slogan of the Toronto Maple Leafs is "Be-leaf it"? I'm pretty sure that's funny enough to warrant a fanfic. 
> 
> Be-leaf it.

Fashionably late as ever, Kakashi walked into the Konoha dressing room and straight into the middle of a screaming argument. Not that this was particularly unusual – Tsunade had a habit of disagreeing rather explosively with her assistants – but what was unusual was that this time she was trading verbal blows with Shikamaru. Shikamaru, who felt taping the top of his stick was too much effort, let alone arguing. Kakashi dropped his gear bag and joined the rest of his team in openly gawking at the spectacle.

  
“Absolutely not! You’re staying on the third line until I decide otherwise!” Tsunade was roaring.

  
“But my strategy will work, coach! I’ve been planning this for weeks!”

  
“Then you could’ve clued the rest of us in! You know what – I don’t care either way. I’m not putting rookies up against Hidan.”

  
“I’ve been on the team three years!” Shikamaru shot back.

  
“I don’t give a fuck!” Tsunade jabbed her finger at him. “Have you forgotten what happened to Asuma?”

  
“That’s exactly why I want to beat him!”

  
“Maa,” Kakashi cut in, before the argument could escalate further, “What if you put me on Shikamaru’s line?”

  
All heads swiveled to face him. Kakashi leaned back against the wall, unconcerned. “Shikamaru is an excellent playmaker. I’m sure I’ll be able to carry out whatever plan he’s got in mind.” This statement was a little more confident than Kakashi actually felt, but Shikamaru seemed in need of rescue and honestly, Kakashi sympathized.

  
“You do realize,” Tsunade deadpanned, “that you’re talking about going up against the two dirtiest players in the league with only rookies for backup? Are you trying to lose your other eye?”

  
Kakashi shrugged. “Might as well give it a shot.” In truth the prospect of squaring off against Hidan and Kakuzu didn’t exactly fill him with joy, but if Shikamaru was planning on retribution for Hidan – Kakashi wanted in. He’d played with Asuma for years.

  
Tsunade threw up her hands in defeat. “Fine! If you brainless idiots want to get stretchered off so badly, be my guests. Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Chōji will make up the first line. Ino, I want you on the third line with Sakura and Sai – Sakura, you take center, got it? Gai, you’ll be on the second line with Tenten and Neji. Fourth line will be Tenzō, Lee, and Naruto – "

  
“Baa-chan!” Naruto yelped. “Fourth line?!”

  
“ _And Naruto_. Fourth line until you can improve your positioning and quit getting in everyone’s way. After that stunt you pulled with Orochimaru, you’re lucky not to be playing in the minor league.”

  
Naruto subsided.

  
Tsunade leveled one last glare at her team. “Good, then. We’ve been over strategies for this game. Shikamaru, don’t diverge too far, and don’t do anything crazy. Do not try to play physical with those guys, and for fuck’s sake don’t get injured or your dad will kill me.” With that, the head coach spun on her heel and stormed out of the locker room.

  
The awkward silence left in Tsunade’s wake was broken by Lee exclaiming, “Let’s do our best, Naruto!”

  
“Fourth line,” Naruto grumbled.

  
Kakashi glanced at Tenzō, who caught his eye and made a face that said, Help Me.

  
“Sai and Ino-pig? Fuck this!” Sakura snapped from across the room.

  
Ino tossed her head and flounced her ponytail over her shoulder. “Works just fine for me,” she said, cutting her eyes at Sai and pretending to ignore Sakura’s venomous look. Kakashi hadn’t yet figured out if her flirtatious advances at Sai were out of genuine interest, or just to make Sakura jealous as a part of their never-ending competition; if her intention was to piss off Sakura, she was definitely succeeding. Sai for his part remained oblivious to anything but Sakura’s animosity, and he looked miserable about it. That line was going to have some interesting teamwork, not least because Sakura had only played a handful of professional games as a center.

  
Only Gai’s line should have no problem – oh, nope, there was Gai in his green spandex bodysuit with his thick eyebrows drawn together in a frown. The instant Kakashi looked in his direction he boomed, “Are you sure this is a good idea, Kakashi?”

  
“He has a point, Senpai,” Tenzō added, helpfully. “You only just got back. Aren’t you supposed to be taking it easy?”

  
Kakashi only ever ‘took it easy’ after an injury when he could use it as an excuse to get out of something annoying, as Tenzō knew perfectly well. “Guys, it’ll be fine. It’s not like I’m going to get into any fights. I’m sure Shikamaru’s got everything planned out – right, Shikamaru?”

  
“Yeah,” Shikamaru replied, digging in his gear bag and not meeting Kakashi’s eye. Well, that was just peachy. Clearly everything was going to be just fine.

  
\---

  
Twenty minutes later, Kakashi was finishing his warmup laps and spotted Tenzō going through his usual stretches on the ice. Kakashi slid to a stop next to him, careful to spray some snow at him, and dropped into a crouch. “Yo!” he said as Tenzō spluttered and wiped his face, “what’s the deal with this Kakuzu guy anyways?”

  
“Senpai, really? We’ve only been talking about him for the past two months.”

  
“I had a concussion!” Kakashi protested. A concussion sustained by blocking a game-winning shot from that asshole Deidara, no less, so he probably deserved some gratitude, especially with Konoha vying for a playoff spot.

  
Tenzō didn’t look terribly convinced, but he replied, “What did you want to know?”

  
“Why haven’t I played him before? I thought he was super old or something.”

  
“Yeah, he’s a veteran, used to play in the league like a decade ago. Apparently he started really young, but then he switched leagues because they wouldn’t pay him enough. You wouldn’t believe how expensive his contract is – I have no idea how he got the Immortals to pay him so much.” Tenzō clambered to his feet and offered Kakashi a hand.

  
As the two of them headed off the ice and back into the dressing room, Kakashi asked, “What about Hidan, then? I don’t remember him being a draft pick this year.”

  
“As if you’ve ever paid attention to the rookies,” Tenzō pointed out. “But no, he got scouted from the Nukenin league. The two of them joined the Immortals as a pair, actually – it’s an interesting story. Apparently Kakuzu always used to get into huge fights with his teammates, so even though he’s a great defenseman, no team wanted him that badly.”

  
“So Hidan is the only one he can get along with?”

  
Tenzō snorted. “Actually, I’ve heard Hidan is the only one who can fight him without sustaining permanent damage.”

  
“Oh.”

  
Distracted by the conversation, Kakashi almost tripped over Naruto, who had apparently been waiting to ambush him by the dressing room door. “Kakashi-sensei! You’ve gotta convince Tsunade-baa-chan to put me on the first line! I wanna use my new move!”

  
“I don’t think you’re quite ready to pull that off in a game yet, Naruto,” Tenzō cautioned. Naruto duly ignored this.

  
“I’ve been practicing for ages! You know I can do it!”

  
Before he could respond, Kakashi was rescued, surprisingly enough, by Sakura, emerging behind Naruto with a water bottle. “Naruto! You forgot the energy drink I made for you.”

  
Naruto’s pleading expression morphed into a comically horrified grimace. Kakashi found it adorable how supportive Sakura had been over the past several months, as Naruto’s game had steadily improved under his self-imposed training regime. Unfortunately for Naruto, this support came in the form of disgusting diet supplements – not that Kakashi himself had tasted them, but he took Naruto’s word for it. Kakashi took the opportunity of this distraction to edge past his cute students and look around for Shikamaru; he wanted to hear this mysterious strategy before the game actually started.

  
He found him sitting with Ino and Chōji, as usual. The three of them were practically inseparable; their teamwork as a line was already legendary, though Ino and Chōji had both joined the team only the year prior. It was thanks to Asuma that the three of them had improved so quickly – it was no wonder they were taking his injury and subsequent retirement from the league so hard. The fact that Hidan had only received a three-game suspension after putting Asuma in the hospital only added insult to injury. Kakashi wondered how he would manage as a replacement. He took a breath, and walked over to find out exactly what plan he was gambling this game on.

  
\---

  
The puck dropped at center ice to the cheers of the Konoha crowd: Kakashi snapped out his stick to win the draw, and sent the puck back into his own zone to start the game in possession. Ebisu on defense passed to Chōji on the wing, who dodged a poke check from the Immortals’ winger and handed the puck back off to Kakashi. Puck on his stick, Kakashi rushed up the middle of the ice and immediately found himself face to face with the infamous Hidan for the first time.

  
He was hardly the largest defenseman Kakashi had faced, but he was fast – Kakashi barely had time to register the strange black and white facepaint he wore behind his visor before he was forced to bank sharply and fire the puck off to Shikamaru on the left wing. Avoid challenging the defensemen and pass to keep possession: that was Tsunade’s official strategy for the game. But the Konoha forwards could only keep it up for so long before the Immortals forced the turnover.

  
Ebisu and Ibiki did their jobs; a brief skirmish in the Konoha zone ended with Kakashi gliding up the boards, trying to give his linemates the chance to change. As he crossed center ice, up to challenge him came the second half of the Immortals’ formidable defense duo – and this guy was fucking huge. With the speed he was coming, his intent was clearly to smash Kakashi into the boards like a mosquito, and he looked like he easily had the size and strength to do so. Rather than try to make it past him, Kakashi braked hard and passed to Neji, whose instinct for the play had thankfully put him in the right position, and fled to the safety of the bench.

  
Over the next three shifts, Kakashi studied the flow and rhythm of the game. His team held onto the puck well, and for the majority of the time kept the play out of their zone, which was to be expected: two excellent players didn’t make a good team, after all, and the Immortals’ forwards were relatively weak. In spite of that, and in contrast to the rumours he’d heard about this team, their teamwork was remarkably good. Kakuzu snapped passes to his teammates as they moved into perfect position, as if the defenseman had the other players on puppet strings. Combined with the Immortals’ aggressive, physical game, this posed a problem for Konoha, who allowed three shots on net before Tenzō finally managed to fire off a shot from just inside the blue line. The shot went off the post and Tenzō returned to the bench shaking his head; Kakashi tapped him on the shoulder as he jumped back onto the ice.

  
The Immortals’ manager was playing a tight matchup game: Konoha’s first and second lines were always up against the two star defensemen, and so Kakashi found he could hardly touch the puck without finding either Hidan’s black and white grin or Kakuzu’s towering bulk rushing to meet him. Surprisingly, neither team drew penalties; after the bloodbath of the last game, it seemed that everyone was being cautious, at least for now.

  
It wasn’t until nearly the end of the first period that blood was drawn. The play started with Hidan intercepting Tenten’s pass at center ice and then blasting down the boards with the puck. Rushing to stop him came Genma, with too much speed and at not quite the right angle, who went for a bodycheck – “Fuck!” said Tsunade, from behind Kakashi on the bench – but Hidan just dropped one shoulder and sent Genma flying with a clean reverse hit. Two more strides and Hidan was left free to send a blistering wrist shot flying over Shino’s shoulder into the net.

  
Sounds of a struggle started up behind the bench.

  
“Shizune, give me that, I’m serious.”

  
“Tsunade-sama, the cameras will be panning over here!” hissed the frazzled medic.

  
“All the more reason I need a fucking drink!”

  
As the team shuffled down the bench to change, Tenzō commented, “That’s why Hidan is the highest-scoring defenseman in the league.”

  
“Shit,” Kakashi agreed.

  
\---

  
The period ended with Konoha still trailing 1-0. Tsunade rubbed her temples as she addressed the team. “I know you’re still pissed off about last game, but you have to stop focusing so much on just those two, for fuck’s sake. You should all be winning battles against the weaker players. Keep to your man, get sticks in their lanes, box them out, and avoid the goons. Got it?”

  
The team nodded, but not a one of them looked happy about it. Shizune in the background could be seen double-checking her first aid kit.

  
Six minutes into the second, Tsunade’s strategy finally began to pay off. Some good work by Sai in the neutral zone set up a play against the Immortals’ second-string defense pair; Sakura managed to get in close enough to unleash her deadly slapshot. The goalie got a pad behind it but couldn’t handle the rebound, and Ino, in just the right position next to the net, swooped in to flick the puck in on her backhand. The crowd roared, the horn sounded, and Ino dropped gracefully to one knee in a cellie that was ruined by Sakura diving on top of her. Beside Kakashi on the bench, Naruto had apparently forgotten his earlier disgruntlement and was hugging Lee in jubilation, the both of them cheering wildly. Tenzō, next to them, was wincing and trying to cover his ears through his helmet.

  
Less than three minutes later and Neji, rushing up the wing, came up against Hidan and pulled one of his perfectly-timed toe drags to slide the puck past the defenseman’s stick. But as he moved to skate past, Hidan, too late to catch him, lifted his stick off the ice and slashed hard at Neji across the backs of his legs. Neji went down as the crowd roared in disapproval, and the next instant Gai was charging across the ice and slamming Hidan into the boards.

  
Amidst a flurry of whistles and Lee’s shouts of indignation – Tenzō had to grab him by the back of his sweater to keep him from going over the boards – Tsunade could be heard yelling, “NO! You green idiot!” – and then as the penalties were announced: “You’ve got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME!”

  
It was two minutes each for Hidan and Gai, slashing and roughing respectively. Four on four instead of a Konoha power play, which was supposed to have factored into Tsunade’s game plan. Flask in hand, Tsunade waved Kakashi and Shikamaru back onto the ice. At the risk of incurring the wrath of the head coach, Kakashi patted the very red-faced Gai on the back in solidarity as he passed by. Though it had cost them a power play, Kakashi couldn’t really fault Gai for the penalty: not only was Neji one of his beloved protégés, he’d also suffered a serious injury just a year prior, right after joining the team. Strategic or not, Hidan couldn’t be allowed to just run over Konoha’s rookies like that.

  
Just over a minute of four on four and Kakashi was able to get a pretty decent scoring opportunity by leading Kakuzu in a chase behind the net, but to his chagrin didn’t flip the puck quite high enough to make it over the goalie’s pad on the wrap-around and ended his shift frustratingly goalless. With thirty seconds to go of four on four hockey, Sakura lost a faceoff in the Konoha zone and Kakuzu on the point received the puck. The hulking defenseman was left with plenty of time and space to move; he took a couple backwards crossovers to find the right position and aimed a slapshot through the traffic to bury the puck just under Shino’s blocker.

  
The second goal seemed to energize the Immortals – or maybe it was the leniency of the refs giving them the confidence to try some dirtier plays – and for the final minutes of the second Konoha were being run off their feet. Lee took a nasty hit into the boards but got back up to finish his shift, and Ibiki blocked a shot that looked painful even with his padding. Shino took a beating but managed to keep his team in the game. Shikamaru drew a tripping penalty, but by then the Immortals had figured out Konoha’s passing game well enough to easily kill the power play. For the second time, the period ended with Konoha down by one.

  
\---

  
The atmosphere in the arena was tense at the start of the third: Konoha fans had come to see retribution for Asuma, and they were watching that chance slip away. The team was feeling the pressure, exchanging terse nods instead of the usual chirps and compliments – even Naruto was, for once, silent. Shikamaru, eyes angry behind his visor, asked Kakashi in a low voice to swap positions with him for the next shift, to which Kakashi agreed. He didn’t mind giving up his position as center for just one period to give the kid a chance.

  
Right from the puck drop the pace of the game was furious – Konoha was getting desperate. Time and time again they rushed the net, but try as they might they couldn’t break the Immortals’ defense. The shots counter climbed, but most of Konoha’s shots were half-baked attempts from the outside, squeezed out in a last-ditch effort to get the puck on goal, and none made it through. The game of possession they’d started with was beginning to show cracks; a few messy plays in the neutral zone nearly resulted in goals for the Immortals. By the second half of the third the game was looking like a losing fight.

  
But nothing is a sure bet in hockey, and no team was better at proving that than Konoha. With barely four minutes to go in the game, Kakashi dug the puck out of his zone and fed it up to Chōji on the wing, who charged up the boards into the neutral zone and was challenged by Hidan. Cutting to the middle, Chōji left the puck behind him for Shikamaru, who had appeared as if from nowhere to snap up the puck and fly towards the offensive zone – Hidan, who had moved with Chōji, pivoted to chase the puck and started off hot on Shikamaru’s heels, heedless of Kakuzu already moving to block his path. Shikamaru was moving at full speed, puck in front of him; Kakuzu closed in and swung his stick one-handed to knock it away, but Shikamaru read his move and leaped to the right, sliding the puck with him out of reach of the defenseman’s stick. That step put him out of the path of the lunging Hidan, who noticed what was about to happen just an instant too late – he crashed headlong into his own teammate. With that, Shikamaru had the breakaway.

  
“Hidan’s weakness is his positioning,” Shikamaru had explained in the dressing room. “We tried to exploit that last game by drawing him out of position and making him chase the puck, but what we didn’t account for is that Kakuzu is good enough to cover for him even when he loses his man. The only way to get past the both of them is to let Hidan get in Kakuzu’s way. If you have Hidan following you, try and draw him towards Kakuzu instead of into open ice – we might be able to get the two of them tangled up and leave one of our players free to score.”

  
Surely even Shikamaru hadn’t anticipated his strategy would play out quite so spectacularly. The stadium held its breath as he sped unchallenged towards the net; he moved in close on the goalie, slid across the crease - and flipped the puck on his forehand into the top corner of the net.

  
It was a tie game and the stadium went wild as Shikamaru threw his hands up in celebration. Skating up from the neutral zone to congratulate his linemates, Kakashi had a perfect view of what happened next: Kakuzu, getting to his feet and looking absolutely furious, began to move towards Shikamaru but instead encountered Chōji, who had been behind the play but was now skating towards the net for a celebratory hug (insisted upon by Chōji after every goal). As he moved past Kakuzu, the huge defenseman lifted his stick and hit a brutal crosscheck across Chōji’s back, clearly taking out his anger on the nearest Konoha player. The Konoha bench erupted in fury as Chōji went down, and Shikamaru, who was closest, raced in to avenge his friend. For a moment Kakashi considered holding him back, then thought, ‘fuck it,’ and threw off his gloves so he could get a good hold on Hidan’s sweater.

  
To Kakashi’s disappointment he barely got in one decent punch before the refs were on them. It took two linesmen to keep hold of Hidan, who was practically frothing with anger, and it was several more seconds before Kakuzu and Shikamaru could be pried apart. Despite his righteous rage Shikamaru had clearly been getting the worst of it, with blood running down his chin out of a split lip. Somehow it seemed Tsunade had managed to keep her team from rushing the ice, so the fight was over before it could become a full-on brawl – and good thing, because this time no penalties were called on Konoha. With just over three minutes left, they had a tie game and a two-minute powerplay.

  
Tsunade called a timeout to strategize. Red-faced with either anger or alcohol – probably both – she looked like she desperately wanted to cuss out her players for the fight but was barely holding back to make the most of the timeout. “We do not want to play these guys in overtime,” she gritted out through clenched teeth. “This powerplay is our best chance to win this. I know you’re all tired-” here she pointedly ignored Naruto, who was bouncing a little on the bench, “- but let’s give it our all for these two minutes, alright? Now I’m switching up the lines a bit for the last couple minutes. The first line just got off, so starting the powerplay will be Gai, Tenzō, and Lee. Next up Tenten, Neji, and Sakura. For the last forty seconds I want Kakashi’s line back on, but Chōji’s out from that hit. Shikamaru?”

  
“I can play, coach,” Shikamaru insisted through the gauze he was holding to his face.

  
“Me too, Tsunade-baa-chan!! I can do it! Please?”

  
Tsunade let out a frustrated sigh. “Alright, Naruto, since you’re somehow the only one who can still skate, you can go on the first line.”

  
“WOO!”

  
“Do NOT screw this up, understand?” Tsunade raised a finger threateningly. “You’ve all practiced for this plenty, so here’s all there is to the plan: keep the play moving forwards, don’t lose any battles for the puck, and get pucks on net. Everybody got it?”

  
They got it.

  
The whistle blew; timeout was over. Kakashi tapped the first powerplay unit on the shoulder as they headed out onto the ice, hoping that by the time it was his turn to play Konoha would be in the lead. Gai took the faceoff at center ice and won possession, and from there his line proceeded to do an admirable job of carrying out Tsunade’s orders, starting a rush that lead to a shot by Lee. With Kakuzu in the box and Hidan resting on the bench, this was clearly the best chance for Konoha to break through the Immortals’ defense, and with this in mind the players gave it their all. Over and over they rushed the net, shot from the point or tried to hammer it in from up close; but luck seemed to be on the side of the Immortals, and denied Konoha the goal. Gai’s line returned goalless (Lee slamming his head down onto the boards with exhaustion and shame), and Sakura’s line had no more success. Which meant that the final seconds of the powerplay fell to Kakashi’s line – and as Kakashi hit the ice, he spotted Hidan returning to his post as well. Just fantastic.

  
The puck was snapped up by Naruto, who as usual seemed to have forgotten that at the end of a game you’re supposed to be tired. He whipped down the ice with the puck, managing to outrace the Immortals’ winger and dodge a bodycheck from their center – not for the first time, Kakashi thought with a twinge of nostalgia how much he looked like his dad. Pushing through his exhaustion, Kakashi hustled up the ice to throw himself into the fray that was developing in front of the net. Shikamaru, who had managed to get there ahead of him, was already taking a shot; the puck went wide and Kakashi raced behind the net to get it. An opposing player beat him to it, so Kakashi slammed him into the boards (with maybe just a little more force than strictly necessary) and kicked the puck free with his skate. Naruto caught the puck, rounded the net with Hidan on his heels and tried to go bardown on his backhand only for the goalie to rob him with a glove save.

  
Skating into position to take the faceoff, Kakashi glanced at the clock: fifteen seconds to go in the powerplay. One last scoring opportunity, and there was Hidan’s creepy black and white skull makeup grinning at him between him and the net. Kakashi gritted his teeth and resolved to make this last chance count.

  
Kakashi had his stick in motion before the puck hit the ice. He won the faceoff and sent the puck back to the point for Genma, who faked a shot and then sent a pass up to Shikamaru. Kakashi saw him lift his head to look around for open players; Kakashi was up in front of the net with a defender at his side, but Naruto was open on the other side of the ice and in perfect position to take a shot. Shikamaru saw him at the same time Hidan did: as Shikamaru sent a hard pass across the ice, Hidan charged in to obliterate Naruto against the boards. And just like he had done so many times in practice, Naruto reached behind him to receive the pass on his forehand, spun around backwards – too fast for Hidan to follow – and came out of his spin-o-rama with a wrist shot already rocketing towards the net – going just wide of the target. Kakashi reached out his stick and just barely managed to redirect the puck into the net.

  
He could hardly believe it, but there was the goal horn, and the fans erupting in the stands: they’d managed to take the lead with barely a minute left. Kakashi had one brief second of celebration before Naruto barreled into him at full speed and nearly knocked him off his feet. A little winded, Kakashi returned his student’s excited hug and disentangled himself in time to see Hidan snap his stick over his knee in frustration – which, honestly, was nearly as satisfying as watching the puck go in the net. Kakashi skated down the ice to tap Shikamaru’s glove, and the three of them headed back to the bench. It was up to their teammates now to hang on for just one more minute.

  
Watching the end of a close game like this from the bench was worse than playing, even when you were exhausted. Naruto had to content himself with shouting encouragement from the sidelines, and although Shikamaru was quiet, Kakashi could tell he was anxious. But his plan had already done its work: the smooth teamwork their opponents had started the game with had thoroughly broken down. The Immortals were finished.

  
The last few seconds of the game – four, three – Hinata lingered with the puck behind her net, buying time – three, two – she had to pass it to Kiba up on the boards – one – and as the buzzer sounded the end of the game, Kakashi found himself on his feet cheering himself hoarse with rest of his team. It was a hard-fought victory, but they had their revenge for Asuma and had taken down the two most dangerous defensemen in the league. Konoha players streamed back onto the ice to celebrate and to congratulate their goalie with a tap to the helmet. With a goal to his name and the win secured, Kakashi was suddenly feeling much more gracious towards his opponents, and was more than happy to send Kakuza a friendly wave from across the ice and mouth “good game!” at his furious expression. Ah, vengeance was sweet.

  
\---

  
“Kaka-sensei!! Did you see my new move? It worked just the way you said!”

  
The mood in the locker room couldn’t be more different from the start of the game – with everyone clamouring to relive each play and congratulate their friends, the racket was deafening. Naruto was leading the charge, radiating excitement and pride. Well, he’d done very well; he deserved to be proud.

  
“I saw it, Naruto, but it didn’t look like Hidan did,” Kakashi told him.

  
“You totally skinned him alive, seriously,” Ino added.

  
Naruto spun around and focused on Tenzō. “Told you I could pull that off in a game!”

  
Tenzō shook his head. “You almost had it, Naruto. We just need to work on your shooting accuracy a little more.”

  
“Aw, come on!”

  
The noise was cut by Tsunade, who stuck her head in the dressing room to announce, “Kakashi, Shikamaru, they want you for the three stars. Everyone else, good work! Drinks are on me!” Loud cheers from the team mostly drowned out Shizune’s objections from behind the door. Kakashi got to his feet with a sigh and followed Shikamaru out the door to wait.

  
It was much quieter in the hallway. Out here, it was obvious that Shikamaru didn’t quite share the mood of the rest of his team: he was quiet and subdued, face still set in the steely expression he’d worn during the game. Kakashi thought he understood why. Revenge on the Immortals was nice, for sure; but ultimately it was just a game, and tomorrow Asuma would still be missing from the dressing room. Shikamaru’s plan for the game had worked, but it didn’t seem like he’d planned for much beyond the rink.

  
Kakashi supposed he should say something. Ugh, he’d always been awful at this sort of thing.

  
“Hey,” he said softly. Shikamaru looked at him. “Asuma will be very proud.”

  
It wasn’t much, but Shikamaru nodded once, and a small smile finally appeared on his face. Kakashi gave him one last tap to the shoulder before heading back out onto the ice to the sound of the announcer reading his name. As he faced the cheering fans and lifted his stick in acknowledgement, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit proud of his students himself. If this game was any indication, his days in the spotlight were numbered – the Konoha rookies were well on their way to making history.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for thelistening, who is half responsible for this AU, and who urged me to post this fic to "find out if there are Others" (by which I can only assume she means Canadian weebs).


End file.
